Ways to Help out the Community While Traveling.

Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts. It even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. – Anthony Bourdain

There is no greater feeling than traveling to a new country and learning their ways, food, and language. It's most peoples drive when finding a new place to visit. This year my personal goal was to have more authentic trips. What does this mean? Stop going to Paris. Although I've only been to Paris once and it was years ago I use this as a generalization. Everyone and their mother goes to Paris.. I mean I went with my mother. It's true. However, when I say Paris I mean the tourist traps. The famous cities like Milan and Berlin, there is local culture there but so much of it is hidden behind the tourist traps.

This year will be spent in small villages. Learning the languages. Meeting the locals. Trying the strangest food one can find. That's authentic to me.

Why did I go on that rant? Not really sure. I wasn't sure how to start this blog to be honest but I hadto start somewhere.

vol·un·tour·ism - a form of tourism in which travelers participate in voluntary work, typically for a charity.

Traveling to these authentic countries and experiencing these cultures you might see a not so pretty side. It's not a tourist trap and the bad side is not hidden. Everything you see is real. Sometime that can get really sad.

For example.. the beaches could be trashed, the kids could be starving, and honestly the list goes on.

One thing I love to do when I travel is give back. I try to give back in any way I can. There's always something you can do to help out the community. The past few years I've done a few things so I wanted to make a list of ideas in case you might want to try one of them on your next trip. One doesn't have to stay in a place for a month to help out it could just be a one time thing like choosing to eat at a local families restaurant versus a big chain.

Doing one small act of kindness could make the biggest difference. It could be small to you but mean the world to someone. It's truly a rewarding feeling. Most of us are so privileged, let's start helping out more.

1. Cleaning Up -

Let's start with one of my favorites. If you're visiting somewhere that has a beach, when you visit the beach pick up some trash. It could be a whole bag or a few pieces, whatever you take is a few pieces less than what was there before. Someone online told me Australians have a "take 3" rule. Whenever they visit some sort of waterway they take 3 pieces of trash back with them. I'll start implementing that in my travels for now on. There are plenty of countries that are landlocked. It isn't necessary to be on the water to help pick up trash. There is tons of trash on the side of the road and other places. Take 3 wherever you go. Let's help out the planet, we only get one.

2. Eat Local

A huge part of traveling is trying new foods. Food represents culture, history, and life. Food brings people of all ages and backgrounds together and that's a beautiful thing. Anthony Bourdain is one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to trying new foods. I used to be closed minded and scared to try new things because that's how I was raised. The way he was so open about trying new foods no matter how strange they might seem because it was apart of someone's culture. He once ate a live heart from a cobra and embraced it with respect even though that's insane af. We all love a good restaurant with high reviews but maybe when driving down the road pull off to a little shack. Grab a water or snack. You're contributing directly to the local people. Not sure where to eat? A quick google search I'm sure you'll find some amazing hidden gems. If cooking is your thing, maybe stop at a local produce market instead of a large chain.

3. Book local

When doing day tours or activities there are tons of ways to book. Try researching some local options where locals can take you on tours. There are usually hikes or kayaking tours with locals here in Guatemala. Cooking classes with a local family in their kitchen. If you'd like to book online Airbnb experiences usually does a good job with this instead of using a tour company. Some places you visit you can ask a random guy to take you on a boat or drive you around. You never know what cool experiences or friendships will come out of doing this. Plus your helping them out when the money goes directly to them.

4. Volunteer with Kids

There are a few ways one can volunteer with kids while traveling. The most common way to volunteer is by teaching English. There are plenty of resources to teach english, if you're volunteering through Worldpackers see if there are any options. I've saw some really cool ones in Africa! I also found this site Teachaway which is similar to workaway and worldpackers. Once in Bali I found this non profit English school and went to teach one lesson. There are opportunities all around!

Some other options-

Volunteer with animals

Donate food

Volunteer on a farm

Regardless what you decide each will be rewarding in their own way. If you give one a try let me know! Would love to hear about your experiences.